BOSTON — At a press conference on Thursday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Fisher fired back at state party officials' claims that he demanded $1 million from them to drop his lawsuit.

Mark Fisher, who is suing for the opportunity to be on the GOP primary ballot, said that Massachusetts Republican Party officials reached out to him in December with an offer of $1 million to drop out of the race. Fisher said that he initially rebuffed the offer because he was sure it was illegal.

"My first reaction was 'This is a bribe, this is illegal, this can't be done.' My second reaction was they have no clue why I am running. There is no amount of money that can get me out of this race," said Fisher.

When pressed to identify the people who reportedly offered him this amount of money in December, he declined, citing a gag order. He did say it was two individuals.

Fisher filed a motion for a gag order in Suffolk Superior Civil Court, but the motion was denied by Judge Douglas Wilkins after the Massachusetts Republican Party objected to it, according to civil court documents.

At the press conference, Fisher called on Attorney General Maratha Coakley to investigate the incident.

"The facts, as substantiated by Fisher's attorney to the Boston Globe, are that Mr. Fisher asked the MassGOP leadership for $1 million dollars to abandon his lawsuit, and later revised his offer to $650,000, not the other way around. His claim that we are unwilling to open that ballot box is also false," said Hughes in an emailed statement to MassLive.

Fisher just missed qualifying for the Republican Party primary ballot in September at the March state party convention. He told reporters gathered on Thursday that party officials had to take him seriously now because he had obtained the required number of signatures for ballot access. Fisher said he hopes to rase $75,000 within the next three weeks in order to receive matching funds so he can challenge Charlie Baker in the fall.

Fisher filed a lawsuit in April seeking access to the September ballot and damages from the Massachusetts Republican Party. The Massachusetts Republican Party offered Fisher a spot on the ballot on Wednesday.

"Any settlement that I would have to consider would always include me on the ballot," said Fisher.

Fisher said that even though the state party's attorney Louis Ciavarra has repeatedly asked his attorney Thomas M. Harvey what it would take to drop out of the race, he has no intention of leaving the race.

The press conference was called by Fisher just a day after a story in The Boston Globe alleged that he was seeking $1 million from the Massachusetts Republican Party. Fisher said the charges crossed the line.